FEAST & FAST: The art of food in Europe, 1500 –1800

26.11.2019(Tuesday) —26.04.2020 (Sunday)

Food defines us as individuals, communities, and nations: we are what we eat and, equally, what we don’t eat. When, where, why, how and with whom we eat are crucial to our identity. Feast & Fast presents novel approaches to understanding the history and culture of food and eating.

This research‐led multi-sensory exhibition will showcase hidden and newly‐conserved treasures from the Fitzwilliam and other collections, and features four spectacular historical reconstructions with food at their centre, including a Jacobean sugar banquet, a European feasting table and a Georgian confectioner’s workshop. It will tease out many contemporary and controversial issues – such as the origins of food and food security, over consumption in times of austerity, and our relationship with animals and nature – thereby linking the past with our present, and encouraging visitors to question and rethink our relationship with food.

FEAST & FAST: The art of food in Europe, 1500 –1800The Fitzwilliam Museum Main address:
The Fitzwilliam MuseumWells Fargo CenterTrumpington StreetCB2 1RBCambridge, United kingdomThe Fitzwilliam MuseumWells Fargo CenterTrumpington StreetCB2 1RBCambridge, United kingdom2019-11-262020-04-26Food defines us as individuals, communities, and nations: we are what we eat and, equally, what we don’t eat. When, where, why, how and with whom we eat are crucial to our identity. Feast & Fast presents novel approaches to understanding the history and culture of food and eating.

This research‐led multi-sensory exhibition will showcase hidden and newly‐conserved treasures from the Fitzwilliam and other collections, and features four spectacular historical reconstructions with food at their centre, including a Jacobean sugar banquet, a European feasting table and a Georgian confectioner’s workshop. It will tease out many contemporary and controversial issues – such as the origins of food and food security, over consumption in times of austerity, and our relationship with animals and nature – thereby linking the past with our present, and encouraging visitors to question and rethink our relationship with food.